The Broadband Stakeholder Group (BSG) has called for the planning regime to be changed to speed up broadband rollouts.

According to the group, local authorities across the UK all take a variety of approaches to planning.

This, it warned, is hindering the deployment of telecoms networks to households and businesses.

As a result, the BSG believes the government, local authorities and operators should create a "uniform approach" to planning in order to facilitate speedier broadband rollouts.

The body said tackling this issue straight away is crucial to driving the deployment of full-fibre and 5G infrastructure in the future.

Richard Hooper, Chair of the BSG, commented: "Building infrastructure in the UK is extremely tough due to our geography and legacy systems, but also due to regulation.

"We need to remove these barriers to ensure we get the digital infrastructure that our economy depends on."

Mr Hooper acknowledged that on their own, these barriers can seem small. However, he said a multitude of marginal gains can add up to more than the sum of their parts.

"We believe that this is the case here," he continued.

"Removing these barriers will help unlock investment and deliver networks with better coverage, capacity and quality."

This comes shortly after Openreach confirmed that it would sound out communications providers on the viability of creating a full-fibre network in Britain.

A formal consultation looks set to be opened in the summer, with providers being asked to share their views on demand for Fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) technology and the potential costs and benefits of rolling out the technology on a large scale.

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